Gallium alloys have been shown to exhibit a reduced energy band gap that fluctuates as a function of the amount of arsenide and nitride added thereto. For example, 1% atomic nitrogen added to gallium arsenide (GaAs) to form gallium arsenide nitride (GaAsN) has been shown to reduce the energy band gap by as much as 200 meV. Likewise, the introduction of 1% arsenic into gallium nitride (GaN) to form GaAsN has been shown to reduce the band gap by as much as 700 meV. The resulting material is applicable and useful in a wide range of semi-conductor applications. Specifically, narrow energy band gap semi-conductors constructed with such alloys are useful in long wave length light emitters and detectors, high performance electronic devices, and high efficiency solar cells.
Many conventional methods of GaAsN formation in the semi-conductor industry involve an epitaxial or other similar growth process, molecular beam epitaxy (MBE), gas-source MBE (GS-MBE), metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) and sputtering. While these methods do result in the formation of GaAsN material applicable for semi-conductor usage, growth processes place a solubility limit on the amounts of nitrogen that can be contained within the resulting GaAsN material.
Other methods, such as that disclosed in the article entitled, “High Concentration Nitrogen Ion Doping Into GaAs For The Fabrication Of GaAsN,” reported in the publication Nuclear Instruments And Methods In Physics Research B 118 (1996) 743–747, discloses other methods of doping GaAs with nitrogen, which do achieve better solubility of nitrogen into the GaAs material. Specifically, nitrogen ions are implanted into a LEC formed GaAs substrate by high energy (400 keV) ion implantation. This process is then followed by an annealing process.
While this approach provides a means for doping GaAs with nitrogen, there is a desire to improve manufacturing methods of forming such substrates. Such desire is to conserve material and decrease the size of the GaAsN layer, as well as the underlying substrate to only the size that is needed for an application.